


How The Story Starts

by suzvoy



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, First Time, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, fixit, fixit fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-28
Updated: 2010-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-17 10:13:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16093541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suzvoy/pseuds/suzvoy
Summary: Maybe Reid was meant to die that day.He doesn't.





	How The Story Starts

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on spoilers for the end of ATWT. If you don't want to know how the Lure storyline ends, don't read this fic. I've put my own spin on the spoilers, but have still tried to keep it soapy ;D Realism is overrated.
> 
> Feedback would be wonderful :) Many thanks to the fantabulous d for her help! *SMOOCH*

Reid Oliver hummed happily to himself as he drove along. When he realised what he was doing he considered stopping - he didn't think he'd ever hummed in his entire life - but then decided not to. After all, today was a day of firsts.

It wasn't every day Luke Snyder told Reid he was in love with him.

Ridiculously unable to stop himself from smiling, Reid did so, tapping his fingers on the edge of the wheel.

Luke had sprung it on him out of nowhere. They'd been alone at the apartment, constructing a meal - in what Reid hoped was a case of gastronomical foreplay - when Luke had gone disturbingly quiet. Quiet was not Luke Snyder's default state. When Reid had prompted him, asking if everything was okay, Luke had smiled a huge, sincere smile, and simply said:

_I love you, Reid._

For once in his life, Reid had forgotten all about food.

He'd been stunned, frankly, because he'd thought for a long time that he'd be the one to say it first. Never having been in love, Reid had had trouble deciphering the feelings at first. He'd wanted Luke, certainly. Worried about him. Stood up for him. Felt like he was crawling out of his skin when he wasn't with him. Generally wanted to do anything to make him happy. The term 'love' hadn't even crossed his mind until the afternoon Katie clued him in. He hadn't been thrilled at the idea - still wasn't most of the time, if he were honest - because he'd seen love, heard about love; had seen what it'd done to Katie. And there wasn't a single part of him that was ever prepared to lose Luke.

And yet here he was, humming, a stupid ass grin on his face because Luke had told Reid he loved him, Reid had told Luke he loved him, and after Reid made this delivery for Chris, he _knew_ there was going to be a lot of groping and a lot of touching and a lot of sex, and for the first time in his life he was absolutely calling in sick tomorrow.

To have sex. Lots and lots of sex. Lots and lots of sex with Luke.

Spying a train crossing approaching, Reid flicked his gaze out along the track. A freight train thundered along in the distance, and Reid decided not to tempt fate, bringing his car to stop before the crossing. He may have been in a rush to pick up the heart for Chris, but he wouldn't do anyone any good if he got himself killed.

There was no one in front of him, so Reid just kept tapping his fingers on the wheel, waiting as the painted wooden barrier lowered, the lights flashed, and the warning alarm blared. Suddenly hearing a loud tyre squeal, Reid checked his rear view and saw a huge black SUV swerving wildly at great speed and he barely had time to even consider reacting when the SUV hit him, hard, shunting him forward with enough force to move the car several feet and break the barrier, sending an air bag exploding into his face. Stunned, coughing, bruised, Reid tried to get his bearings, looking to his left and seeing the train coming right for him. He was on the track.

He was on the _train track_.

_No._

The car wouldn't start. The door wouldn't open. Whether as a result of being hit by the SUV or his own lack of coordination as a result of being hit by the SUV, he really couldn't say, but the train was getting loud, louder and louder, and its horn was blaring and the warning alarm was sounding and Reid was frantically lowering the window and fighting with his seat belt and the ground was shaking beneath him and it was nearly there, almost there, and then he was squeezing through the window and _Luke_ and-

*

Humming, Luke placed the pillow back on the bed yet again before taking a step back to study it critically.

It still didn't look right.

Luke knew that pillow placement really didn't matter in the big scheme of things, but he fully intended to be on Reid's bed, naked, when Reid got home, and he had every intention of presenting himself to his best advantage. He still couldn't half-believe what he'd blurted out this morning, but he'd been feeling that way for a while and it finally felt like the right moment. Reid had certainly liked it, he thought with a grin, if the amazed smile, reciprocation and long, deep, wet kiss they'd shared was any indication. They'd been interrupted by the phone call about the heart for Chris, but the last kiss they'd shared right before Reid left had held the promise of so much more. _I love you_ , had been the last thing Reid had said to him, and Luke intended on showing Reid in all possible ways, just how much those feelings were returned.

Picking up the pillow again, Luke was eyeing the bed when the doorbell sounded. Reid had been gone for a while, but it still felt a little too early for him to be back. Nevertheless, just the idea made Luke's pulse quicken and he threw the pillow haphazardly on the bed, jogging out to answer the door. His smile didn't vanish when he saw Margo and Tom waiting on the other side, but he couldn't entirely mask his disappointment.

"Oh!" He tried to keep himself sounding upbeat. "Hi! You guys here for Katie? She went out a while, ago-"

"Actually," Margo said slowly, and it was only then that Luke realised how serious she looked. "Luke, we're here to talk to you. Your parents told us we'd probably find you here."

By now, there was no trace of a smile left on Luke's face. The expressions Tom and Margo wore told him everything he needed to know. His good mood was gone, evaporated suddenly and irrevocably. She'd mentioned his parents, so it couldn't have been them. If it'd been any family member, someone from his family would've contacted him directly. Noah? Casey? No, they would've been more personally distraught. Ali? Damian?

His mind shuttered one name away completely, because he refused to think it. He refused to think it at all.

And then he was asking. "Who is it?"

Stepping inside, Margo gestured towards the sofa. "Honey, let's sit down and-"

"Who is it?"

Tom and Margo looked at each other. Finally, eventually, Margo looked back at him.

And said it. "Reid's car was involved in an accident."

No. He couldn't listen to this. He couldn't listen to this.

But he had to. "What kind of accident?"

Margo swallowed. "It was hit by a freight train."

No. No. If he kept denying it, maybe it wasn't happening.

But he had to know. He had to get the details. He had to _know_. "Is he hurt?" Abstractly, he knew that was a ridiculous question - he'd been hit by a freight train, of course he was hurt - but it felt like the question was asked from far, far away. Maybe far enough away that the answer wouldn't hurt him.

Maybe.

"Luke," Tom said gently but firmly, putting a hand on Luke's shoulder. "The damage to the car was...extensive."

"What Tom's saying," Margo quickly added, "is that we're still trying to put together exactly what happened and...we haven't found a..." She paused again, obviously trying to find the right way to voice what she had to say. "So far, we haven't been able to determine exactly what happened to Reid."

Blinking once, twice, Luke tried to say something.

_But he told me he loved me this morning. We're going to be happy. I'm going to have forever with him._

Finally, he managed it. "Take me there."

*

Reid knew he was being taken somewhere. Dazed from the accident, probably concussed from the fall, he was groggy enough that he couldn't really do anything, but aware enough that he knew he'd been picked up and thrown in the back of a car. He hovered in and out of consciousness, and then everything changed when he suddenly found himself plunging into ice-cold water.

His mind instantly focused, full awareness snapping back into life. He still felt like shit and had a killer headache, but survival was taking over and he began assessing the situation - which could basically be translated into: _I'm in deep shit_.

He wasn't in any body of water; he was in a river, a fast moving river that was pulling him along with the rapid current. Reid couldn't fight it, it was hard enough keeping his head above water, but he did start trying to get what he could of his clothes off, trying to remove anything that would bog him down further. He managed to get his shoes off, then his suit jacket. Anything else was too much effort - he couldn't remove any other clothing and keep himself afloat. The current was just too damn strong.

Focus. He had to focus.

He did his best to keep his body angled towards the direction he was heading, looking for anything that might help him. It didn't work most of the time and he was banged against rocks, plunged underwater and thrown around like a rag doll inside a washing machine. After one particularly vicious dunking, one he nearly didn't recover from, Reid's resolve only strengthened. He was not dying. Not now.

_I love you, Reid._

And then he saw the branch.

If he was lucky enough to grab it, if he was lucky enough that it didn't break under his weight, it was going to strain the hell out of his shoulders and arms.

But it was the only shot he had.

In the blink of an eye, the branch was there, right in front of him and Reid was reaching for it, grabbing with all his strength.

_I love you, Reid._

*

Margo had not been happy. She'd had no intention of taking Luke to an accident scene that was still being investigated. It was only when Luke invoked the threat of his family's full power - namely, one Lucinda Walsh - that she changed her mind.

Luke didn't care about acting like a Grimaldi.

Luke only cared about Reid.

He had no idea how long the drive took because he wasn't really aware of anything. He knew that he'd been in the back of Margo's car, and he knew that the same mantra kept repeating in his mind, over and over again: _findreidfindreidfindreidfindreidfindreidfindreidfindreidfindreidfindreid_.

But then he was standing outside the car, and there were police cars and backed-up traffic and a train.

And, in the distance, trapped against and under the front of the train, were the remnants of Reid's car.

Luke wondered if Reid had felt any pain.

He hoped not.

Margo fixed him with worried eyes. "Luke, I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to go up there-"

"I need to see," he told her, and somehow found the strength to start walking.

He thought of Reid. How angry he'd been when they'd first met. How he'd helped Luke's dad. How he'd befriended Katie and sang stupid songs that helped Jacob fall asleep. Of his secret passion for caramel latte's. What he'd been like as a child genius, how lonely he must've been. How lonely he was when Luke met him. How honest and strong and intelligent he was. How funny he was. How much he loved and how deeply he felt it.

Stumbling, Luke gasped, bracing his weight against the train.

Margo was next to him in moments, touching his arm. "Luke," she urged.

He pulled away. "I need to _do this_ ," he hissed.

She looked at him sadly. "Why?"

He didn't have an answer. He didn't need one. Moments later, the sound of feet running on gravel made them both turn to see someone jogging towards them.

Margo lifted a hand, shielding her eyes from the sun. "What is it, Harding?"

Harding slowed to a stop, panting a little for a breath. "Got a call on the radio. Man pulled out of the river about ten kilometers from here. Beat up as all hell, but he says his name's Reid Oliver."

Luke started running.

If Margo hadn't arrived just three seconds after him, he would've driven off in her car.

*

Reid was never mocking farmers again.

It was a farmer who found him. It was a farmer who brought a rope, and more help, and pulled him to safety. It hadn't been easy, his hands were aching from rope burns and he'd gone under more than once.

But he was alive.

He couldn't be dead, because there was no way being dead could hurt this goddamn much.

The farmer - Frank, his name was Frank - had thrown a blanket over his shoulders, and Frank's wife had shoved a cup of coffee in Reid's hands. Reid wasn't about to drink it - he'd probably just throw it back up - but he savoured the warmth on his hands even as they stung and the rest of him shivered.

"Um, so," he said, clearly his most coherent opener ever, "My name's Reid Oliver. I'm going to need a hospital. Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to pass out any second. By the way? Tell Luke that I love him."

And then he did pass out, but he was awake again only a few minutes later - which he felt kind of spoiled the moment.

"Ambulance is on its way, honey," Frank's wife said - Doris? Dora? Nora? - tugging the blanket tightly around him, as he sprawled in the chair someone had put him in.

Good. Ambulance was good. He definitely had a concussion. He ached _everywhere_ , something he'd never actually experienced before, and half his life had been spent standing in one place for hours on end. "Luke," he said, although he wasn't sure why. It just seemed like a good thing to do. "Luke."

"I know," she smiled indulgently, rubbing a gentle hand over Reid's forehead. "You told me already. If I ever meet him, I'll certainly pass the message on."

"Martha!" Frank yelled from somewhere else. "Ambulance comin'!"

Good. That was good news. Reid would take even a half-ass paramedic at this point.

Within minutes he was being examined, having a light shined into his eyes, and the paramedic announced that he probably had bruised or cracked ribs, had many bruises and contusions that didn't seem life-threatening - although he would of course be thoroughly checked out at the hospital - and that he was also suffering from a concussion.

This was not anything Reid didn't already know, and he revised his opinion about half-assed paramedics.

The paramedic was helping him along the drive to the waiting ambulance, when a car screeched onto the property, throwing up dust as it grew closer to the house. When it slowed, the passenger side door burst open before the car even stopped moving, and someone jumped out.

_"Reid!"_

Reid's brain couldn't process it. He was exhausted, dazed, concussed and he was here, Luke was here and Reid was pushing away from the paramedic and collapsing against Luke. They fell to the floor and Reid didn't care, he didn't care because Luke was here, holding him, whispering, "You're alive, you're alive, you're alive. I thought you were dead. I thought you were _dead!_ "

"Nah," Reid managed, smiling at Luke's tear-stained face. "Didn't get to have sex yet. Not gonna miss out on that."

Luke laughed, and cried some more, and Reid promptly passed out.

*

If there was one thing Reid loathed, more than anything else - and he loathed a great many things - it was being in hospital as a patient.

Four days Bob had trapped him here so far. _Four days_. It was a complete overreaction. Reid agreed that he'd needed to be kept in initially to keep an eye on the head injury, but after the first night he should've been free to go. The other injuries, while painful - the bruised ribs were giving him hell and he couldn't really move his arms much at all without inciting agony - were nothing that should've kept him taking up a valuable hospital bed. Bob, however, had insisted that Reid was still not fit to be released and wouldn't be persuaded otherwise - and Reid had tried, frequently and at great length. He could've always ignored doctor’s orders and checked himself out, but there was the matter of the man currently snoring next to him. Sitting forward in the chair, head and shoulders resting on the mattress, face turned to one side; hand clinging on to Reid's own swollen and bandaged palm.

Luke had barely slept since Reid had been found; that much was clear. And Reid wasn't about to do anything that would upset Luke further, leading to even more stress, even less sleep and potentially compromise his health. He'd been absolutely serious when he'd told Luke that he needed to take care of himself - now that he was in, Reid wanted it all. He'd even try and get along with Luke's mom; that's how seriously he was taking this.

They still weren't sure exactly what'd happened to him after he'd jumped out of the car - and more importantly, out of the way of the oncoming train. Detective Hughes' current working theory was that whoever had hit him with the SUV had been under the influence of drink or drugs. They'd panicked, and not wanting any potential witnesses they'd grabbed a concussed Reid, dumping him in the first place they could think of where no one would find him - the nearby river. The current had dragged him kilometers away. According to everyone - Bob, Margo, Luke - it was a miracle that he wasn't more seriously injured, or killed outright. Surviving the train and the river went against all the odds.

Reid didn't know anything about luck, or fate - he didn't really believe in either one of them. Reid just knew that it wasn't his time and he wasn't giving this life up. He squeezed Luke's fingers tightly. If Death came calling Reid fully intended on kicking him squarely in the balls.

He wasn't giving this up. Not for anyone.

*

Katie spent a lot of time visiting Reid. Luke knew it was a good distraction for her, seeing her best friend on the road to recovery when the man she loved was still struggling for life. No one blamed Reid for not getting the heart to Chris, but he knew how guilty Reid felt about it regardless. By the time the authorities knew something had happened it was much too late, and the heart wasn't viable anymore. Even Luke knew that organs, once removed from the body, had a limited shelf life no matter what you did to try to extend their usefulness. The hunt was currently on for a replacement and Luke knew that if anyone could save Chris, it was John Dixon.

John and Reid had clashed badly at first and Luke had quickly come to the conclusion that they were much too alike. Now knowing John as an adult, Luke could easily see what Grandmother had seen in him - one of the things that had first drawn Luke to Reid was how intelligent he was. Not just that he was a doctor, or that he knew everything about the brain, but how quick-witted he was. As it turned out, that kind of verbal intelligence was a big turn on for Luke - and it seemed like it was the same way for Grandma; something that Luke frankly tried not to think about in too much detail. Lucinda had been spending a lot more time than usual at the hospital lately, a situation that Luke continued to tease her about. Once Reid recovered, Luke suspected a long conversation over a milkshake was in his and Grandma's future.

"Hey, Blondie," Reid said, making Luke look up from the proposal he'd been not-reading. "I can hear that thing whirring away from over here," he gestured towards Luke's head. "What's up?"

Grinning, Luke folded the paper back. "Just thinking about Grandma getting lucky."

Reid made a face that was extremely entertaining. "I know this town is incestuous, but really? There isn't...someone else you should be thinking about getting lucky?"

Placing the paperwork to one side, Luke stood, taking Reid's hand and leaning over him to press a warm, deep kiss against his lips. Finally pulling way, smiling, Luke looked at him and said, "We're not having sex until you've recovered."

There was an actual pout. Reid, apparently, wasn't backing down without a fight - something else that had drawn Luke to him. "Believe me when I tell you that all the important parts are most definitely recovered, and most definitely _up_ to the occasion."

Shaking his head warmly, Luke wasn't giving in. "Reid, I know your ribs are still killing you, all the muscles you've pulled in shoulders, not to mention your countless other bruises and scratches." He had a particularly vivid bruise across the left side of his face.

"I don't care," Reid assured him.

"I do," Luke replied seriously. "Reid, I want nothing more than to be with you. And, God, if this has taught me anything, it's that I should take nothing for granted. But..."

"But?" Reid prompted.

Luke squeezed Reid's hand, even as it felt like a hand was squeezing his own heart. "I thought you were dead. I nearly _lost_ you. You went to hell and back and I won't be responsible for causing you more pain. I won't." He stared at Reid stubbornly, not caring that his eyes were tearing up. "Put yourself in my position," he finished with, finally. "What would you do?"

Reid had no answer for that, because there wasn't one.

*

Three weeks later, Reid was still recovering. He had, however, long since been released and was recovering at home. He was almost feeling like himself again. His ribs were still tender, but nothing like the agony they had been, and his shoulder muscles had improved considerably. Luke had been there every single time he needed him - and made himself scarce when he didn't. When he'd first been released, Reid had thought it only fair to let Luke know that he was a lousy patient.

"I'm going to drive you crazy," Reid had said.

Luke had just grinned. "I'd figured that much out just by watching how you spoke to Bob at the hospital."

Taking the higher ground, being the better man and generally being more awesome than everyone else in existence, Reid had ignored him. "I'm going to drive you crazy, but I need you. And sometimes I won't." At Luke's curious expression, Reid continued. "Sometimes I'm going to need you to leave me alone. Not because I don't want you, not because I don't love you, but sometimes I'm just a grouchy bastard who needs everyone to leave him alone. Especially when I'm injured."

Luke's face had drawn serious, pensive. "Okay."

Reid spoke to him seriously. "I'm not pushing you away," he insisted. "I'm not saying I don't need you. I'm just saying that sometimes, I need space." Christ, here he was talking mumbo-jumbo about 'space' and 'personal time' and instead of hating himself, all he could do was look at Luke. He paused, considering, before saying it. "I'm not him, Luke."

Nodding a little too quickly, Luke had agreed.

When Reid had been released from the hospital, there'd been no question about where Luke would be staying, and every night since they'd slept in Reid's bed together. They couldn't exactly wrap themselves around each other due to Reid's injuries, but it was enough just to wake up and see Luke sleeping next to him - stupid hair and all. As time passed - three weeks, then five, then six - Reid's pain grew less and less and they slept closer and closer together.

Until one morning, Reid woke up to find himself actually humping Luke - and decided this was ridiculous.

Luke was wide awake himself, caught, holding his cock in his hand and Reid's brain short-circuited. They lunged for each other, Reid rolling on top of Luke, mouths slotting together hungrily.

"Morning...breath," Luke panted between kisses.

"Don't hear me complaining," Reid gasped, mouthing Luke's neck, hand slipping under Luke's ass to press them closer together. "Help me get my briefs off."

And it was messy and perfect and over _way_ too fast for both of them, but even rubbing off against Luke was just about hotter than any sex he'd ever had. It was kind of ridiculous that it was true, he thought afterwards, Luke's arm thrown across his chest. He'd had his share of sex, most of it very satisfying - and then there was Luke, who Reid was crazy about.

Maybe it had something to do with that love thing.

"Reid?" Luke asked quietly, making Reid turn his head towards him.

He smiled fondly. In fact, the smile was so fond Reid probably would've lost all credibility if any of his colleagues had happened to see him - and he really didn't give a damn. "Yeah?" And then he saw the embarrassed but determined expression taking over Luke's face. This should be interesting...

"Can we try something?"

And that was how he ended up with his back against the headboard, balls deep inside Luke's superb ass.

Luke held himself still for a long time. At first Reid thought he was letting himself adjust, but it wasn't long before he realised that wasn't the only reason - it was kind of hard to miss the intense way Luke was staring at him. And it was kind of hard not to stare right back.

So he did.

Reaching a hand up, Luke touched the side of Reid's face. "I love you, Reid."

And then, bizarrely, Reid felt his eyes water. "That was it."

Luke frowned prettily. "What?"

Reid had tried fighting against it in the past, but he'd long since known it was useless. Luke already owned every part of him. He needed to know this, too. "The accident...the river. I kept hearing the last thing you said to me. I know it makes me sound like some cheesily romantic teenage girl, but...I wasn't letting go of you. I wasn't ready to do that." He didn't think he'd ever be ready to do that.

Smiling through his own watery eyes, Luke caressed Reid's face. "All I care about is that you're here to be a cheesily romantic teenage girl." He grinned, teasingly. "Plus, we can totally pass notes to each other in study hall."

And that was all that mattered, really. Pride, pretending to be something he wasn't, trying to protect himself - all of it would've kept him away from Luke and there was no way, absolutely no way he was ever supposed to be away from Luke. Yes, Luke was stupidly big-hearted, never put himself first, had a ridiculously huge and needy family, clearly had terrible taste in casual wear and was far too interested in the lives of everyone he knew.

But Reid loved him. Every brilliant, frustrating inch of him.

"You and me," Reid said quietly, and it wasn't as terrifying as he thought. "I think it's forever."

Smiling hugely, Luke leant forward, rubbing their noses together. "Tell me something I don't know, Dr Oliver."

~FINIS


End file.
